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Homebuilder ETFs Rise as Firms Scramble to Meet Demand

The homebuilder exchange traded funds are at the highest levels since the subprime bust in 2008. The housing market continues to rebound as current supply is not meeting the demand of eager homebuyers who have been waiting on the sidelines.

“The housing turnaround seems to have caught almost everyone in the business by surprise. As desirable as the long-awaited improvement may be, the unusually low level of homes for sale is creating widespread problems for buyers and sellers alike, leading to bidding wars and bubblelike price jumps in places that not long ago were suffering from major declines,” Catherine Rampell wrote for The New York Times. [Homebuilder ETFs Rise to Multi-Year Highs on Housing Starts]

In response to the housing market recovery, iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction (ITB) and SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (NYSEArca: XHB ) have climbed to their highest levels since 2007. The recent slate of positive data for the homebuilder sector has strengthened investor confidence. Housing and financials are commonly used as economic bellweathers for the health of the U.S. economy. [Pending Home Sales Lift Builder ETFs]

Housing starts were reported as up 0.8% in February, according to The Commerce Department, the highest level since 2008. This news came one day after the The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Monday, which fell to 44 from 46 in February. It was the second decline since January, which was preceded by eight straight monthly gains, reports Associated Press on USA Today. Readings under 50 are a sign of negative sentiment.

The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday existing home sales increased 0.8% to an annual rate of 4.98 million units last month, the highest level since November 2009, reports Lucia Mutikani for Reuters. Economists polled by Reuters had expected home resales to rise to a 5 million-unit rate. Homes took about 74 days to sell in February, according to the median estimate, down from 97 days from a year ago.

Meanwhile the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported the average home sales price is up 0.6% from December to January. The U.S. home price index is still 4.4% below the peak seen in April 2007 and national housing prices have not receded since January 2012, reports UPI.com.

“With buying conditions remaining very supportive to demand and overall economic fundamentals continuing to improve, we expect the momentum in housing activity to improve further, providing a supportive backdrop for the recovery more generally,” said Millan Mulraine, a senior economist at TD Securities in New York. [Housing Market and Homebuilder ETFs May Slow: S&P ]

Critics warn that the housing market did turn artificially fast. “The recovery is real,” said John Burns, chief executive of John Burns Real Estate Consulting. “But the pace of the recovery has an artificial component to it.”

iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction

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Homebuilder ETFs

Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.

The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.